I know (Almost) NOTHING.....

[KimKactus]

Sprouts

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Collected Seeds

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Seed on towel

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Cutting Seeds

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Picked fruit

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Bowl of fruit

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Plant with nice fruit

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Fruit that is so big it's popping out of the cactus.

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Little plant with lots of fruit

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Ten days ago, I was with my kids wandering the native grass pastures that are part of my parents farm in Southern Alberta. We were lucky enough to come across multiple cacti with fruit, so I picked them and showed the kids that they were edible (something I had learned from my grandfather). They were enamored with the idea of eating something from the prairie and they spent much of the afternoon combing the pasture for the treat.

After they had their fill, I picked a few to take home with me. These little cacti and their delicious fruit had piqued my interest and I started my quest to find out more about them. That brings me here. From what I can gather, I have E. Vivipara var. Vivipara seeds. It looks like these are adapted to the high westerly winds, extreme temperature fluctuations, and lack of snow cover that is common to our area. They grow fairly flat to the ground and are typically small. The plants I found were primarily growing on the South slope of a moderate hill. I have pictures for you all to view.

I'm not sure what has inspired me to try to propagate these plants from seed. But I am occasionally struck by intense fascinations with things and this seems to be one of those times. I will describe the process by which I've harvested the seeds and planted them and keep you updated on the results. First, I slit open the fruit and removed the seeds. Then I spread the seeds across a paper kitchen towel to dry. Next I removed the seeds from the towel with the tip of a sharp knife. I bleached some plastic food containers, added holes to the bottom and lower sides and set them aside. I purchased sterilized cactus and succulent soil from a local retailer. I filled the containers 3/4 full of soil and placed them in a bucket of water and let the water absorb up the holes in the container and into the soil. I removed the containers, pressed the soil down to remove excess water. I sprinkled seeds evenly over the top of the wet soil in the container and then sifted a light layer of soil over top. I put each container in a zip lock bag and put it in a south facing window. I saw germination of the seeds within the week. One of the sprouts is beginning to green. Until this time I haven't opened the bags or watered. Today, I've opened the bag slightly at the top, but haven't added water as the soil still seems to have moisture. See the pictures for an illustration of this process.

So....am I doing this right? Any thoughts on how to keep my sprouts happy now that they are coming up?

[mmcavall]

Well done, Kim, congratulations for all this, including showing your kids the wonders of life! I'm not very experienced in growing cactus from seed. They like shade and humidity, but in what degree I'm still trying to find out. Take a look to the "grow from seed" section and see what you can learn from the threads there. Good luck.

[7george]

Generally these seeds overwinter in cold place and germinate next spring. In Alberta it happens even in June. If you want to grow seedlings during the winter lights will be needed and a warm place. Better use mineral gritty mix, cause this black dirt will catch fungus or you should dry out the soil completely between watering. Read something first about growing cacti seedlings. Save some clean and dry seeds in the fridge for later attempts.

[KimKactus]

The seedlings seem to be thriving and now are showing little spines. I'm growing these in cactus specific soil (not black dirt) and am looking into growing lights as the days are shortening. As an experiment, I was letting one pot dry out more than the other. The growth on the dry set up was minimal. The consistently moist pot is growing MUCH better. Since then, I have kept the moisture up on the "dry" pot and growth has accelerated. I have TONS of seeds. I didn't expect these plants to grow with such a limited set up, but so far so good. I'll be moving them under lights very soon and will take a picture of the new set up. Beginners luck so far perhaps?

[7george]

Keep it in 5 - 10 cm of lights, night minimums about 18 - 20 deg. C. Don't expect them to grow fast, flowers will appear after ~8 years...
Let me find a photo of my seedlings from last winter.


These went dormant because of the short days now, they are trying to bury themselves above the ground. And need re-potting into new soil.

[KimKactus]

What does your light set up look like for your seedlings? Mine definitely need more light. They are elongating and from what I've read, it's because of the lack of light hours. There is just so much information about lighting, I'm having a hard time getting a handle on it. I've looked at LED's online as well as getting florescent lights locally. There's a hydroponics place here in Lethbridge and I might see what they have/recommend. From what I've read, seedlings aren't terribly picky about types of lighting as long as they are getting supplemental light. I kind of want something that they can grow with though. The cool at night bit you've mentioned I've achieved so far. But today I'm worried, the windowsill is cool because of the SNOW . I'm more worried about them being warm enough during the day than cool at night. Can you tell me a bit about the substrate you are using when you start your seeds? So far mine has been OK and no mold is apparent, but I'd like to know what others use. I like the rocky topping on yours, but I think my seedlings are too young for graveling the top. Anyways, enjoy your Thanksgiving.....or is it Christmas...lol.

[Kattatonic]

How exciting. What a rewarding growing challenge. Must give you an incredible sense of pride to be growing from wild seed.

[7george]

What does your light set up look like for your seedlings? Mine definitely need more light. They are elongating and from what I've read, it's because of the lack of light hours. There is just so much information about lighting, I'm having a hard time getting a handle on it. I've looked at LED's online as well as getting florescent lights locally. There's a hydroponics place here in Lethbridge and I might see what they have/recommend. From what I've read, seedlings aren't terribly picky about types of lighting as long as they are getting supplemental light. I kind of want something that they can grow with though. The cool at night bit you've mentioned I've achieved so far. But today I'm worried, the windowsill is cool because of the SNOW . I'm more worried about them being warm enough during the day than cool at night. Can you tell me a bit about the substrate you are using when you start your seeds? So far mine has been OK and no mold is apparent, but I'd like to know what others use. I like the rocky topping on yours, but I think my seedlings are too young for graveling the top. Anyways, enjoy your Thanksgiving.....or is it Christmas...lol.

OK. I used a propagator - a box with 2 CFL, 23W, 4100K or more. Day highs ~ 30 - 32 deg., 14 hour daylight and 10 h darkness. On the windowsill they will not grow - the days are short and there is too cold. My house thermostat is at 16 deg. for the night so I was using a heating pad 7 or 15W, not too strong, just for winter.
My seeding soil is mineral - a mix of zeolite, vermiculite an sand, some small rocks at the bottom holes and the top (but added later). Grown in a sterile sealed bag for ~ 3 months and than taken out with dry/wet regime. Now seedlings went dormant on the cool windowsill, think to give them occasional watering, 1ce a month or so not to let them dry out fully.

[KimKactus]

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Here is my light set-up to start. I am using a 18", 17W, 6400K, Sunblaster T5 with a NanoTech reflector. I've put a heavy plastic sheet at the front of the shelf to hold heat and moisture in. When the light goes off, it cools to about 21 degrees Celsius. I have it on a 14hr light 10hr dark automatic timer. I'm wondering if the light is still a little too high up from the plants. It can be lowered. I also wonder if the seedlings would do better out of the bags. I'll attach a current picture of their growth.

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[7george]

Yes - bring them closer to the light, plasic also obscures it. Open some bags and observe how they grow.

[KimKactus]

Thanks for the feedback. Already the adjustments seem to have helped their growth!

[KimKactus]

I've now removed the seedlings from their bags and I'm starting to let them dry out before watering. They were looking a bit "sun burnt" (sort of pinkish color) so I've raised the light a bit and reduced the light exposure time by an hour. I noticed a few had their roots somewhat exposed. I think I would sift a bit more soil over the seedlings next time I plant as the soil layer covering the seeds in hindsight seems too thin. This would also explain the very quick germination. Those sprouts with roots above ground were looking dry with this new regimen, so I've gently covered the exposed roots and up-righted a few of the seedlings that were laying on their sides. I will see if this delicate handling has a negative impact. I am currently at about 7.5 weeks since planting. Here is a up close picture of the seedlings at this time.

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[KimKactus]

I am about 4 months into growing seedlings. My only concern has been the slightly "sunburnt" look my plants have that I can't seem to remedy. I've raised the lights and cut back light hours, but it persists. Other than that the plants seem to be thriving. I've cut back watering to once a week. I'm hoping this will encourage the seedlings to "root down" a bit as I still feel that the roots are not deeply established. I'll post a few pictures of the growth to this point.

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[7george]

"Sunburnt" is OK for them. Even "lampburnt". And nothing stimulates long roots like watering from below, half-sinking a pot into a bowl, etc. And a porous well aerated soil mix.

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Long roots: to the pot wholes.

[KimKactus]

Great tip. I'll soak from the bottom!